Ethical Politicians
7. Massively Parallel Roles & Tasks
Ethical Politicians are committed to serving all citizens with honest debate and a refusal to engage in hate mongering and other destructive tactics. Two prominent examples are Republican Spencer Cox, Governor of Utah (mentioned earlier with respect to the National Governor's Association's Disagree Better Initiative)" and his 2020 Democratic opponent, Chris Peterson. During their campaign, Peterson and Cox made a political ad together, vowing to debate the issues without degrading each others' character. They also both promised to respect the outcome of the election. An article in The Hill observed that this ad at least temporarily changed voters' attitudes about the legitimacy of undemocratic practices and political violence, though sadly, those changes didn't last long. But an article in The Hill observed that "the ad served as an example of Utah’s characteristically civil political climate. The state’s politicians on both sides frequently lament the sharp and bitter tone of national political debates." Governor Cox's Disagree Better initiative is an attempt to get such attitudes and approaches adopted much more widely across the U.S. Other efforts to hold political leaders to higher ethical standards include Lyceum Labs, which is dedicated to improving political leadership and reducing partisanship in the United States, the ethical principles being championed by the Mormon Women for Ethical Government, Rabbi Russel McAlmond's principles of "ethical individualism," and Tablet's effort to resist the declining tendency of people to recognize the responsibilities of citizenship.
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